The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - UVA Sports 12-Month Timeline Of Events Goes Viral; How Much Is AD Carla Williams To Blame?

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: UVA Sports 12-Month Timeline Of Events Goes Viral How Much Is AD Carla Williams To Blame? First Night VA 2026 Unlikely To Take Place Sombrero’s Moved To Grit Coffee Downtown Spot Indivisible CVille Endorses Sally Duncan For AlbCo BoS Central VA Retail Report Is Concerning CACVB Needs Insight Into CVille Tourist Draw Neil Williamson & Emily Kilroy, 1015am Friday Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

Guys, welcome to the I Love Seville show. Thank you kindly for joining us. My name is Jerry Miller, the Thursday edition of the show. It's a pleasure to connect with you guys through the I Love Seville network. It is a glorious and gorgeous day in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. Today we have a lot we're gonna cover with you, the viewer and listener, as we try to fill a void in central Virginia and beyond,

for what is quickly becoming a media desert. And we are doing our best to help give you content that is local to Charlottesville, Almaro County, the University of Virginia, and Central Virginia, that keeps you more informed, more entertained, enlightened, and educated. Today's program, I think, is no different. We have UVA athletics at the forefront.

We have the local economy at the forefront. We have food and beverage and restaurants at the forefront. We'll break a little bit of news for you, as it pertains to First Night Virginia. After we report the news about First Night Virginia, the legacy media print radio and television will mimic what we do and report it themselves. We have a lot we're gonna cover on the program,

including Indivisible Charlottesville endorsing Sally Duncan for the Admiral County Board of Supervisors. We're gonna talk the Charlottesville, the CCVB, Charlottesville Convention and Visitors Bureau asking for our help as it pertains to tourism and what needs to be done from a marketing standpoint to drive more tourism dollars. We remind you the viewer and listener that tomorrow tomorrow at 10, 15 a.m., Emily Kilroy is gonna be in the studio,

the Almar County Economic Development Director, along with friend of the program, Neil Williamson, an all-around great guy who's el presidente, el jefe, to the free enterprise forum. I want to highlight to start the program who's el presidente, el jefe, to the free enterprise forum. I want to highlight to start the program the 12 month timeline of events in the Virginia UVA Athletic Department.

I knew when putting this timeline together that it was gonna be compelling content and commentary. Frankly, it was just events in clear-cut factual form. I never in my wildest imagination did I anticipate more than 500,000 people according to Facebook just on the Facebook platform alone reading what I had to write. In fact, I can look at the data

by looking at analytics on Facebook through my professional business account. The post that I did yesterday, just after the Wednesday show, on my personal Facebook page, 175 shares alone, that post more than 70,000 readers on that one. I can toggle over to the I Love Seville Food Food Facebook page where we also posted the 12-month timeline of events for the Virginia Athletic Department. 153 shares of that post, more than 250 people liked or interacted with it, 192 comments and total viewership, Facebook accounts, more than 137,000.

That's just on I Love Seville Food alone. I can toggle over to I Love Seville. And ladies and gentlemen, we posted that on 15 Facebook accounts, 15 Twitter accounts, two Instagram accounts, LinkedIn, YouTube, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, the Fountain app, the Rumble app. I am quite confident, and I can say it with confidence and conviction, that nearly a million folks have read my 12-month timeline of events

for Carla Williams and her athletic department. The I Love Seville Facebook page, goodness gracious, more than 40,000 Facebook accounts have interacted with that. So much I want to cover on that 12-month timeline of events, and it seems the Natives, ladies and gentlemen, are getting quite restless with an athletic department that for the last 12 months has, frankly speaking, underachieved tremendously. Now, there are some folks that have offered their comments,

and I'm open-minded to all commentary that have indicated this is not A.D. Carla Williams' fault in totality. They point to Tony Bennett's surprise resignation and they have said, ladies and gentlemen, that Carla Williams had nothing to do with this shocking, stunning resignation from a Hall of Fame basketball coach and Tony Bennett. I give, I can acknowledge that. I can absolutely acknowledge that. I think some of the accountability does fall on AD Carla Williams's shoulders and at her feet as it pertains to the football program, as it pertains to ladies and gentlemen the empty seats at

Scott Stadium, as it pertains to ladies and gentlemen, the empty seats at Scott Stadium. As it pertains to, ladies and gentlemen, the questionable timing of this new seat licensing program where they're asking the fan base for tens of thousands of dollars to maintain their season tickets and their seats. I think some of that accountability falls on AD Carla Williams's shoulders and at her feet for the struggles of baseball, specifically Brian O'Connor following the season saying, and it's his words, he didn't feel like he was truly supported with this program from a scholarships standpoint, from a midweek travel standpoint, from a lights at Davenport standpoint.

I mean, he's basically outlining ways or reasons why he was not supported by his athletic department, compounding the matters, making the matters worse, the struggles of a lacrosse program, ladies and gentlemen, that historically has been a national power. So there's a lot to unpack there. If you have yet to read the 12-month timeline of events, I would encourage you to go to iloveseaville.com.

And I'm going to ask you, the viewer and listener, this question. Have athletics under Jim Ryan's watch been deprioritized to the point of being second fiddle. President John Castine understood the importance of sports and athletics for what it did for alumni, for students, for fans of the University of Virginia. It galvanized people. It gave them something to do. people. It gave them something to do. It encouraged them to sing the good old song, to wear a hat with the V-Sabers on it, a quarter zip, a pullover, a sweater, a t-shirt with UVA branding.

Today, that same commitment or passion to the brand and the V-savers seems to be significantly diminished. And look no further than average attendance at Scott Stadium. You do a basic Google search, average attendance, Scott Stadium, in 2024. And you see the average attendance is 38,284. UVA is 13th out of 17 schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference in average attendance. Scott Stadium seats more than 60,000 people.

And the average attendance totals that are posted or registered or logged sent to the media are always inflated. The average attendance for Scott Stadium across the 2024 season was a half capacity stadium. That is a barometer for diminished engagement. That is a lighthouse of dwindling support. And whether you're a sports fan or not, these teams, these activities, these experiences, are what help build a culture. And I would say for anyone that's watching the program, and I see viewers and listeners in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee,

West Virginia, Wyoming, Chicago, northern Pennsylvania, and New York, and across Virginia watching me right now. How would you characterize the culture of the University of Virginia right now? The brand identity of the University of Virginia right now? The equity behind the brand of the University of Virginia right now? To me it seems splintered and fractured, seeking a path to new identity and new direction. I see a brand splintered and fractured with turmoil, and I see a brand looking to heal. And it seems to me one of the easiest ways to do this is to galvanize the fan base, the student body,

the alumni base around an athletic department that is clicking on all cylinders and boy oh boy, we are far from it. If you want a compelling read, iloveseville.com forward slash uvasports. I love Seville dot com forward slash UVA sports. Is that what the URL is there, Jay Dumps? Say it again. I love C-Ville dot com forward slash UVA sports. The timeline, ladies and gentlemen, of key events for the UVA athletics department over the last 12 months. Please read it. All right. Studio camera in a two shot. As I wheel in, Judah Wickhauer. Headline for you mosteros. It's a good place and I know the increased visibility with

the downtown mall frontage will probably do them good. Sombreros moves from the back of York Place in downtown Charlottesville, the back of York Place in downtown Charlottesville, where they're facing Water Street, to the front of York Place, taking over the spot for the old Grit Coffee. Grit Coffee moves from its downtown perch to Hunter Craig's building, the old Clock Building, where his son's Waterbird Spirits distillery was headquartered. Hunter and his

son had a tremendous exit for their brand, Waterbird Spirits, that they launched and founded themselves. The Craigs crushed it with the sale of Waterbird Spir spirits. Water bird spirits sale. Who bought water bird spirits? I should know that off the top of my head. Galo. I believe is who bought Waterbird Spirits. But when Waterbird sold to an international conglomerate, it left the clock building on Water Street open, and Grit pursued that opportunity. That left Charlie Lewis, who owns York Place, his family, with its prime spot, the grit coffee location open. And then they transitioned sombreros from kind of an interior piece of York Place

into the showpiece of York Place on the downtown mall. That's food and beverage breaking news for you. The Erpie gentleman, Alex and Michael, put that on my radar. What do you make, Judah Wickower, of sombreros going to the downtown mall? Good move, bad move, thoughts on that? You mean moving their position in York Place? I think it's a good move. I think the visibility will do them well. I think it's definitely going to be a step up, if not a few steps up from the back spot there. I know York Place comes out on Water Street, but I don't feel like it really has a good presence on Water

Street. And that those big glass windows that have been so effective for Marco and Luca and for previous occupants of the other side of that front from, you know, from grit to Cafe Cubano to the places that have been there before. I think it's a great spot. You feel comfortable signing a long-term lease, personally guaranteed long-term lease, to operate a food and beverage business on the downtown mall, knowing everything you know about downtown Charlottesville right now?

I mean, some boroughs already had a lease, right? Moving to this elevates the price per square foot and extends the term. It creates more exposure from a lease standpoint. That's fair. I mean, I've got to assume that they know their business and they're happy paying for the extra visibility. The reason I ask this question, and it's a perfect segue as you're rotating the lower thirds on screen, now the bar graph from the Chamber of Commerce, retail sales tax collection. This will come up with Neil Williamson tomorrow, the president of the Free Enterprise Forum.

Emily Kilroy, the director of development for Albemarle County, will join us at 10.15 a.m. tomorrow. The Chamber of Commerce issues a press release this morning, which I received. The headline, Clouds on the Horizon, Q1 2025 Retail Report, raises concerns. The Chamber of Commerce, as part of its mission to inform the public of business activity, the Regional Chamber of Commerce released the 2025 Q1 Report. This report suggests that retail sales and Internet sales were tepid or negative in all seven central Virginia localities tracked by the regional Chamber of Commerce.

In total, the locality study collected 126,785 less in retail sales taxes in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024. Louisa saw the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024. Louisa saw the largest decrease of more than 8%. Green County and Albemarle County showed tepid growth with 3% uptick for green, 2% uptick for Albemarle, while Augusta, Charlottesville, Flavanna and Waynesboro all decreased in sales tax revenue compared to 2024 Q1. The newly minted

chamber CEO Andrea Copeland says this, while weather may have had an impact on the first quarter numbers, our members tell us they and their customers continue to feel the impact of economic uncertainty. It is too early to call the results of 2025 Q1 a trend, but it raises significant concerns. Two shot Judah Wickhour and I, viewers and listeners, your thoughts. Q1 2025 versus Q1 2024, the numbers don't look good. I ask you the question yet again, feel comfortable signing a more expensive lease with a longer term for a food and beverage business that is on the downtown mall with even more data at your disposal now? They may be less impacted by tariff uncertainty. Certainly less impacted than construction.

Obviously anyone importing from China or areas near there, I think... I respectfully disagree with you. You disagree? Tariffs and uncertainty at a macro level impacts everybody at a micro level. It impacts disposable income, it impacts consumer confidence, it impacts the money that you can spend at your household on any given day. And anyone that has a small business operation that is in Charlottesville is going to be impacted by the uncertainty at a macro level, at an international level, at a national level.

That's fair. I didn't say they wouldn't be impacted. I said they would be impacted less than some other businesses though. Philip Dow from a lease standpoint on the mall, that is a big no for me. Kevin Ansey says, I would not open on the downtown mall if the lease was free. I disagree with if the lease was free, I would open on the mall.

But ladies and gentlemen, the headwinds are obvious. I'm gonna ask you the viewer and listener of this question, why were sales tax collections so down for the first quarter of this year versus the first quarter of last year? I'll ask Neil Williamson that question on Real Talk at 10, 15 a.m. tomorrow. I'll ask Emily Kilroy that question at 10, 15 a.m.

Real Talk tomorrow. Why are they so down? I would definitely say tariffs had a severe impact. I would also guess that a lot of people are getting stretched in by now. We've been, I think, running on gas fumes since the pandemic in a lot of cases, and a lot of people are feeling the pinch now. And this year, we've definitely started to see a lot of people are feeling the pinch now and this year we've definitely started to see a lot of that come to the forefront. I would guess that it's a trend. I don't think people are going to magically start having more money to spend unless something

changes, but I don't know what that would need to be. Viewers and listeners, your thoughts? Put them in the feed. I will relay them live on air. Is this a trend or is this something that could be disregarded as just a blimp on a data radar? Sam Sanders, the city manager, has said they're going to take excess taxpayer collection, additional money they have at their disposal

and to allocate millions of dollars into downtown Charlottesville to improve it. We should not underestimate the influence and impact that downtown Charlottesville has, the mall, on the region as a whole. Downtown's the heartbeat of the region as a whole. I'll try to make an analogy or a metaphor here. If the University of Virginia

is the heart of central Virginia, then downtown Charlottesville is the vessels that transports the blood across the entire region. When the mall is clicking and positive and moving and shaking, the region is going to be moving and shaking. Yeah, I can see that. It's kind of like getting your's kind of like a getting your hand on

the pulse of the of the city and if if the heart is not beating then it tends to show the general the general trend of the the entire area. Kevin Yancey and Waynesboro I bet my life savings that if you open downtown like it used to be Offer street parking meters. You'd see 1000% turn around. Hmm with the street parking meters With street parking meters. I respectfully disagree with Kevin Yancey They tried the street parking digital meters where you would check your car in on a digital meter on Market Street, for example, that failed miserably. Wasn't that right around the pandemic?

I mean, that was certainly a… Worst timing possible. Yeah. The absolute worst timing possible. If I was going to fix downtown Charlottesville, the first thing I would do is figure out a solution for the houseless population. The second thing I would do would be improve the lighting for downtown Charlottesville. The third thing I would do would be a marketing and advertising campaign that

is targeting parents with children and asking them to return to downtown Charlottesville. The next thing I would do would consider a abbreviation or a break on some sales tax collection for a certain short period of time for some of these businesses in downtown Charlottesville so they can use the additional revenue to fuse into their business to improve it. I'd work with Friends of Seaville,

the nonprofit outreach group, hand in hand with them. I'd encourage the CACVB. I think you have the acronym incorrect on the headline. CACVB. Is it the same one? To run a marketing campaign for downtown Charlottesville as well.

I love the train that runs in downtown Charlottesville as well. I love the train that runs in downtown Charlottesville. I love the in-person events they do, like scavenger hunts for downtown Charlottesville. The cocktail passport, where you could go from one bar to another bar in downtown, purchase a cocktail, get a stamp in your passport, and get a prize once all your stamps were completed. These strategies are the type of strategies that are going to work. Some of the merchants, thank you, Wes.

Some of the merchants, ladies and gentlemen, that have taken over leases and vacant storefronts in downtown Charlottesville don't fit the model of downtown Charlottesville don't fit the model of downtown Charlottesville. Yeah, no doubt. CRHA having its headquarters in downtown Charlottesville and the dead center of the downtown mall, that's crazy. Yeah. They still haven't opened, they're still trying to remodel a building with an elevator, the old Vita Nova building, the old Henry's Restaurant building. Mm-hmm.

It's been closed, it's boarded up, it's papered over, and it's going to be that way for a while as CRHA, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, tries to figure out how it's going to make its headquarters in downtown. It's a stain right now on downtown Charlottesville. Operation HOPE and assimilation go from incarceration to assimilating back into society. Their headquarters are in downtown Charlottesville and the old Bashir's location. Make that make sense for me. Charlottesville parks and recreation in downtown Charlottesville.

Make that make sense for me. Right. Because they're not drawing, they're not adding to the draw of the downtown. Close at five o'clock. I mean, it doesn't matter when they close. It's not a business that's going to draw people to the downtown mall.

Consider making parking more available in the Market Street and Water Street garages by extending the first hour free to maybe the first 90 minutes of free. Maybe the first two hours are free. Figure out how you can work with the parking lot owners, the Woodards who own parking lots around downtown Charlottesville, who have outsourced the management of those parking lots to third party, third parties that are not tied

to this community that are charging an arm and a leg. You hear rumors that are facts about the Fitzgerald parking lot in downtown Belmont, for example. A third party is managing the Fitzgerald parking lot in Belmont and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when folks are looking to park in the Fitzgerald tire parking lot to go to the local. It's insanity.

Or to go to Maztapas, $11.50 is the hourly rate. That is absolute insanity that is nauseating. Conan Owen watching the program, his photo on screen, the cost of parking in the Woodard managed lots is a major deterrent. We stopped going after two $30 parking sessions. Anthony Woodard, you watch the program from time to time. You're an absolute unit in the weight room. One of the reasons we can drive more vitality

to downtown Charlottesville is you working with your third party manager to make these rates more affordable. $30 parking sessions in your parking lots don't make sense. It's like a moat around a castle prevents engagement and access. Kevin Yancey, homelessness is a problem, but you're not going to get a mom with three kids parking six, seven, eight blocks to walk to anything downtown.

Yeah. Owen Brenner, watching the program. kids parking six, seven, eight blocks to walk to anything downtown. Owen Brenner watching the program. We appreciate you watching Owen the show. Logan Wells Claylow, hello. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts and we will relay them live on air. Marge King says, Philip, I understand your comment about leasing space in downtown, but if businesses don't start taking over the vacancies, how is the mall going to survive? Some folks have suggested downtown should eliminate the cross traffic on 2nd and 4th

Street. And some people have suggested opening it up altogether. Some folks have said… Take, rip up the bricks and make those streets again. Making downtown a car centric, automobile centric downtown again. I don't buy that one bit. The charm of Charlottesville is the fact that downtown is not car dominant. This comes on This comes on YouTube from ShiftGod13. Is this your first comment, ShiftGod13 on the I Love Seville network? On YouTube in the chat box. I'm a 22-year-old native and I'd say the city has definitely gone hill since 2019.

I talk all the time from 2019 until now how much the city has struggled to find its soul and its identity. I'll say this, there's an analogy that can be made, a comparison that can be made, viewers and listeners, with the city of Charlottesville from 2019 until 2025, and the University of Virginia from 2019 until 2025. You can point to COVID and what UVA was doing before the pandemic and what Charlottesville City was doing before the pandemic and what Charlottesville City is doing right now and

what UVA is doing right now. You can literally point to this pandemic period and say that's when both brands, That's when both institutions started losing their track of their lighthouse or started struggling to see their North Star, started losing their brand identity. Neil Williamson, which is a greater impact on Charlottesville? Sales tax? Which has a greater impact on Seaville sales tax, Barricks Road or the downtown mall? It's a great question. And I don't think it's an apples to apples comparison. Barricks Road, I would bet you, and Neil knows the answer already,

drives more sales tax collection for the city of Charlottesville than downtown Charlottesville. But the downtown Charlottesville sales tax collection has a compound influence or a compound impact on the rest of Charlottesville as a whole. A dollar spent in downtown Charlottesville will also yield other dollars spent in Charlottesville across the city. A dollar spent at Federal Realty publicly traded company Barricks Road Shopping Center will not yield the same compound influence impact of a dollar spent in downtown Seaville. It's the genesee quad, the charm, the nostalgia of downtown that Federal Realty's Berks Road Shopping Center does not have.

Yancey says pull up the bricks. I ain't buying that, Kevin Yancey. Georgia Gilmer watching the program. A major problem with the downtown mall is parking. Not everyone is in walking distance or wants to Uber. And with the growth in the area, area more people we need more parking downtown. I think some of the millions of dollars that Sam Sanders is willing to allocate to downtown Charlottesville should potentially go on say Thursday, Friday and Saturdays to extending that first hour free in the Water Street

and Market Street garages to the second hour free. and market street garages to the second hour free. That's a campaign that you can build a strategy around, saw city manager Sanders. Seville city councilors, you watch the program. City manager Sanders, you listen to the program. I've been told by multiple people in your department. Consider taking the free hour offered on the Market Street garage and the Water Street garage, extending it to two hours free to combat the, do I call it greed of these other

lots around downtown Charlottesville that are strong arming people into obscene rates to park per hour, how do I characterize that maneuver? Do I just call that capitalism? Do I call that greed? Do I call that runaway capitalism? You also own real estate in downtown Charlottesville. For you to gate keep engagement in downtown Charlottesville by charging obscene rates to park in your lots that are better positioned than the Market Street and Water Street garage is only negatively impacting the tenants that pay you rent. It's cutting your nose to spite your face. It's cutting someone else's nose to spite your face. I'll say that again to the private lot parking lot owners around downtown

Charlottesville that have outsourced management of your lots to third party purveyors that are charging $20, $10, $15, $20 an hour to park in these lots that are better positioned than the Market Street parking garage and the Water Street parking garage. What you are doing is diminishing engagement downtown which is impacting negatively the tenants that pay you rent and rent from you. Randy O'Neill watching the program, how about an urban disc golf course? The mall could have a weekly tournament all ages to make mall recreational. Love ideas like this, Rainey O'Neill. Love ideas like this. John Blair has often said, put a zip line up and down the downtown mall for kids to ride on.

I'd try it. He says this, John Blair, I'm curious about your thoughts on this. The group that provided the headline concerts to the Ting Pavilion opened up a similar facility on Browns Island and RVA. Take a look at their lineup online. Could the removal of some big acts at Ting and migrating to RVA be a factor in some issues related to sales tax collection? I'd give it some time, but let's see the ultimate 2025 numbers. It's a great point by John. And see what John does is he already knows these answers. And he's just kind of like, how do you do it?

Where you pepper the conversation. Finesing. He's finessing the conversation. It's absolutely finessing the conversation. Would you say the talent that's come through the Ting Pavilion has diminished in quality? I've never paid a whole lot of attention to the talent that comes to the Ting Pavilion, so I would have a hard time answering that question.

It's usually, hasn't really been, I haven't heard of a lot of bands that I follow. And now that, and now that parking has changed since they've redone the bridge. I'm also not, you know, I used to walk by those pavilion posters every day. There's a four acre green space just a couple of minutes away from Browns Island in Richmond. That's going to become one of the best live music venues. That has become one of the best, has become one of the best live music venues in the Richmond area. And Corin Capshaw of Red Light Ventures, Red Light Management, one of the most powerful people in all of music, led the effort in conjunction with some other partners. And John's alluding that Capshaw, who once directed the lineup for the Ting Pavilion

in Charlottesville, may be sending some of his top-level talent to Browns Island and Richmond instead of that top-level talent coming to downtown Seaville. And as a result of that, have we seen foot traffic engagement and patronization diminish for downtown? That's what John's alluding to there. Maria Marshall Barnes, I think Ting has definitely declined with artists. That's from MMB. Conan Owen says, turn Klockner Stadium into a Friday night concert venue.

They said if UVA did that, the downtown would die in minutes. Ray Caddell, my wife and I saw a show at the Paramount this Sunday, past Sunday. We were running a little late so we used the private lot closest to the Paramount. No dinner, no drinks afterwards, just the show itself. Parking only was $28. We have rented the Paramount on December 5th for our annual Elvis show, which we are promoting ourselves. Parking was definitely a concern, especially since our show and many others draws an older clientele.

$28 for parking. That's insane. That's insane. That's insane. I can't even. The parking lot purveyors that have outsourced the management of their better positioned parking lots than Market Street and Water Street are part of the problem here. Yeah, no doubt. The parking lot owners. You can't charge Manhattan prices for parking in Charlottesville and expect it not to diminish

engagement. Yeah. Lonnie Murray, the thing they should do is the thing they've promised for years, create a permanent farmers market. I mean, goodness gracious, Lonnie, you're right. Get the farmers market off a blacktop asphalt on Water Street. Nikaia Walker, part of her damning legacy to Charlottesville.

Not just rape-themed poetry about Charlottesville. Not just straight-up racism on the dais during her time. Distain for the city that you're administrating. Not just disdain for the city you're the mayor of, but she legitimately created so much friction with Keith Woodard's project on Water Street that he decided to walk away for about a million dollars in underground infrastructure in time, applications,

engineering fees, energy, effort, opportunity costs, a million dollars to create a permanent home for the city market. It was going to be a truly impactful project that would help downtown start segwaying to South Street and ACAC. And he said, to hell with this, I'm out of here. Yeah. That's on her. That's on her.

And whether this is fair or not, especially the two-term city counselors like Michael Payne and Lloyd Snook and potentially the two-term city counselors like Juan Diego Wade and Brian Pinkston. A lot of their legacy on the dais, those four people, those four men, is going to be whether or not they can revitalize downtown Charlottesville or not. For all the good that Lloyd Snook and Michael Payne and Brian Pinkston and Juan Diego Wade have done on the dais. If they're unable in two terms to revitalize downtown

Charlottesville, that will be attached to their legacy as counselors. Anything you want to add to that, Judah? Yeah, there's just something about this city. There's something disconnected about all the pieces of it. I feel like there needs to be some, I don't know, theme is not the right word, just something to connect everything. I feel like, you know, Ix is just a few short blocks from the downtown mall, but it feels to me a lot farther. Like I feel people go to one place and then leave, you know, people drive to the downtown mall and then drive to Ixart Park and then drive to Belmont and they're all so close together. Like in other places that I've lived,

there was just a, I don't know, whether it was a feeling of openness, but a willingness to, it was just, there was something that, something that invited you to walk around and just leave your car somewhere. Whereas I feel in Charlottesville, there's just, I don't know, and this could be just me, but I feel like everything is kind of like its own little island. People leave one island and drive to another rather than, you know,

it just, I don't know what it is. I don't think I can pinpoint it. If you're some listeners, let us know your thoughts. Put them in the feed. Will we relay them live on air? air. This question comes in via YouTube and it's a good one. What are your thoughts on a revival of UVA athletics being a factor in the survival of the downtown mall? That's a damn good question. I'll spin that question or ask that question a different way. The Virginia football team over the last

three years under Tony Elliott has had the worst record of any program in power conference football. UVA, last three years, football, the worst record of any power conference program over that period of time, only 11 wins. How much of an impact does football struggling, a half empty stadium for six or seven home games a year, have on the impact on the downtown's vitality and that sales tax collection? I mean, we don't specifically have a sports bar, but if there were more people wanting to head out and catch a UVA game somewhere, that would certainly help, help bring in some more of that lovely sales tax.

Keep going. I mean, there's also, I don't know how much, do people celebrate? I mean, we don't have, we certainly don't have what some cities have in terms of getting wrecked, both the people and the city, after a big win or loss. But I can certainly see more going on after games. People heading to more games, people heading out to celebrate somewhere, whether it's dinner or drinks or whatever else after games.

All that just increases engagement and engagement usually means people dropping a few, as Jerry likes to call them, duckets at local restaurants, local watering holes. Let us know your thoughts, viewers and listeners. We have some other topics we need to get to at the 1-20 marker of the I Love Seaville Show. One of those topics is the indivisible Charlottesville endorsement of Sally Duncan for the Almarra County Board of Supervisors. I have sat on this program and I'll say it again. If Sally Duncan is elected

to the Alamaro County Board of Supervisors as the representative of the Jack Jewett district, then Alamaro County is heading in the direction of what Charlottesville is right now from a politics standpoint and an identity standpoint. When Indivisible Charlottesville, which is as much a policy and lobbying group as it is an activist group, backs a candidate like Sally Duncan, it shows you, ladies and gentlemen, what is coming down the pipe if she's elected.

Indivisible Charlottesville is the same group that's put Michael Payne on the dais for two consecutive terms. Their politics are as much socialism as they are activism and they're absolutely far from center. A bellwether of Albemarle County and its future is the Jack Jewett race Sally Duncan and Dave Shreve. And do I think candidate Dave Shreve is perfect? No. He's far from perfect. But his politics and platform are way more center-isled and moderate than Sally Duncan's, which are unquestionably out there. Deep Throat dubbed Sally Duncan the white version

of Nakaya Walker. Deep Throat, number one in the family, dubbed Sally Duncan the white version of Nakaya Walker. We will learn a lot of the temperature of Almarra County with that Jack Jewett race in a primary that will be decided in a couple of weeks, ladies and gentlemen. Speaking of which, I believe the turnout for early voters has been pretty, has been more

of a trickle so far. Meager? Meager. It's not entirely unsurprising considering it's a primary and not a general election but I don't know what that's gonna say about the the end tally. Carol Thorpe Queen and Jack Jewett wave number one of max Exodus boycotting Charlottesville happened between the time of Occupy Charlottesville and the height of the Lee statue controversy. A second wave occurred under the mayorship

of Nikkia Walker. Foot traffic plummeted at stores, restaurants and concerts. Bigger name acts stopped coming. The Paramount is the last gasp of any musical act with a name coming to perform here. Gone for long were July 4th fireworks, the Dogwood Festival and Parade and First Night Virginia. Live arts used to be thriving and now we barely hear about it. In my opinion, I have no earthly idea when or if it will ever recover to where it was when I moved here in 1995. We have some breaking news for first night Virginia. Put the lower third on screen.

Judah Wickower has been all over this story from day one. Breaking news on First Night Virginia. We are now six months away from First Night Virginia. Judah Wickauer, once you break this news on the I Love Seville show, television, radio and print will follow what we report. What is that breaking news? Well, I'm sad to announce that as it stands now, we are extremely unlikely to have First Night Virginia this year. My friend had a two-hour conversation with Drake Vandercastel, the current head of the, whatever you call it, the first night committee. And in a, probably the only positive note is that,

is that he, he renewed his payment for taking care of the website, all that kind of stuff. How much is that payment? I couldn't tell you. Couple of dollars? I don't know what it is. But, I mean, you know, it involves, you know, all the hosting and all that kind of stuff. So it's not, you know, it's not, it's not going to make anyone rich, but it's not cheap

either. That at least means that I think the memory of First Night Virginia lives on and eventually I think somebody will take it over and do well by the city. Drake I don't believe has the... Is Drake local to Charlottesville anymore? I don't think he is. He was in town, I believe, and my friend met with him. They talked for a couple hours. He doesn't have the capacity to organize it. And if I'm not mistaken, he's been ostensibly looking for someone to take over without any luck. If there's anybody that wants the job, contact Drake

Vandercastle. There's a tidbit of breaking news for you on the I Love Seaville show. As it stands, first night, Virginia extremely unlikely to transpire. Unfortunately. At downtown Charlottesville. How many years in a row will this be that the family

friendly downtown event that ushers in New Year's Eve to New Year's Day? Did it, did we have it in 24? I don't think we had it in 24, no not 24, did we have it in 23? Maybe three years. It's rough. Yeah. Especially for the downtown. Talking about bringing interest, bringing people to the downtown mall. I'm sure that all the businesses still making it on the downtown mall have been, have missed the revenue boost.

You talk about why sales tax collection is down. How about this, Judah? Seven home football games for UVA. Seven home football games, the stadium is half empty. When people go to those home football games, they stay for multiple days. The hotels have requirements for multiple nights stays. It's not just one night stay. When the football game is over, they come downtown to party. Want to know why sales tax collection is down in

Charlottesville? How about this? The dogwood parade is no more. First night Virginia is no more. Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza, a shadow of its former self. I don't even remember the last time we had a good show. Want to know why the sales tax collection is down? You got 200 and some houseless individuals living in downtown Charlottesville. And the storefronts are the parks or the side streets. You got businesses that have no business setting up in downtown Charlottesville like the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority and Operation Hope claiming storefront, critical storefront space on long-term lease.

And not bringing, I mean that's another spot that's not bringing people. Not bringing foot traffic or engagement. You've got another reason sales tax collection is down? Go eat at a restaurant. 12.5 percent, nearly 13 percent of your bill is taxes. All of the above. Next headline. What do we got? Have we covered them all? Let's see. For the most them all? Let's see. For the most part, CACVB needs insight into Seaville tourist draw.

CACVB. I think we've given a bit of that. Oh my God. We've just given you a master class on what the CACVB should do to drive tourism to Charlottesville. And frankly, I'm a little bit, what's the word, it worries me that the CACVB is asking for help from... Laymen? Average Joes and Josies? Yeah.

I mean, it's kind of not a good look. CACVB, you want some free advice? Listen to this show and what you can do to drive engagement for Charlottesville and consult with experts who are masters in their craft with advertising and branding. We've been doing this for two decades. Others in this market have been doing it for longer. Don't crowd source the Joes and Josies for consultation or advice. Last headline, was that it? I think that's pretty much it.

Emily Kilroy on the show tomorrow. Neil Williamson on the show tomorrow. She's the economic development director for Elmora County. He's the president of the Free Enterprise Forum. Judah Wickower, critical component of the show. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on the I Love Seville Show. So long. Mm..